Fred Hampton on revolution and racism

I’m the Deputy Chairman of the State of Illinois Black Panther Party, Fred Hampton. A lot of people don’t understand the Black Panther Party’s relationship with white, mother country radicals. A lot of people don’t even understand that word that Eldridge uses a lot. What we’re saying is that there are white people, in the mother country, that are for the same types of things that we are for – stimulating revolution in the mother country. And we said that we would work with anybody, form coalitions with anybody, that has revolution on their mind. We’re not a racist organization because we understand that racism is an excuse used for capitalism, and we know that racism is a by-product of capitalism.

Everything would be alright if everything was put back in the hands of the people, and we’re gon’ have to put it back in the hands of the people.

Everybody in the state of Illinois is gon’ have to be involved, or even around, the revolution, cuz we gon’ have one. We gon’ have to do more than talk. We gonna have to do more than listen. We gon’ even have to do more than learn. We gon’ have to start practicing, and that’s very hard. We have to start learning, and you learn through practice. We have to start making mistakes, and you learn through making mistakes. We got to start getting out there with the people, and a lot of times we think we’re better than the people. But that’s an insult, and that’s criminal, to think you better than the people. We got to get together and learn where it’s at. It’s gon’ take a lot of hard work.

That Breakfast for Children is something else. You ought to dig on it. Every sister in this audience ought to get themselves together and come on down and help us with that Breakfast for Children Program. Y’all come down and help feed children in the morning. We have Breakfast for Children because we teach the people, through practice, through observation and participation, that people can be there, free.

That’s the people’s thing. Socialism is the people! You afraid of yourself. If you afraid of socialism, you afraid of yourself. We know they have our pictures. We know they’re looking for us. We know they want us.

But we still said that even though we could be, in a sense, if once this system goes, on the mountaintop, we in the Black Panther Party, because of our dedication to understanding what’s in the valley, knowing that there’s people in the valley, knowing that we originally came from the valley, knowing that our plight is the same plight as the people in the valley, knowing that our enemy is on the mountaintop, our friends is in the valley, we say that even though it’s nice to be on the mountaintop, we going back to the valley.

I be in the offices every day. I be in the streets propagandizing every day. I be working with everybody every day. I be teaching that solidarity is a thing. The end of, complete wipe out of imperialism is a thing. So, if you’re gon’ be thinking about me, that’s what Bobby would be teaching. If you’re gon’ be thinking about, “Ain’t no thing about going nowhere, getting killed.” All we want to know is that you’re doing what we’d be doing if we were here. And you got to do that. You can’t do it unless you believe that you can do it.

(Call and response)
In the spirit of liberation, In the spirit of liberation,
we understand that they want everybody in the party in jail. we understand that they want everybody in the party in jail.
If we know If we know
that if we try to figure out that if we try to figure out
and separate and separate
and divide and divide
who should go who should go
and who shouldn’t go, and who shouldn’t go,
we’d spend more time we’d spend more time
doing that doing that
than working for the people. than working for the people.
So, the quick solution, So, the quick solution,
the speedy one: the speedy one:
Nobody goes! Nobody goes!
Nobody goes! Nobody goes!
We all stay right here We all stay right here
with the people with the people
because we love the people. because we love the people.
Okay, you can put your hands down right now. We say all power to all people.
All power to all people.
We say white power to white people. White power to white people.
Brown power to brown people. Brown power to brown people.
Yellow power to yellow people. Yellow power to yellow people.
Black power to black people. Black power to black people.
X power to those we left out. X power to those we left out.
We say Panther power to the vanguard party.
Panther power to the vanguard party.

When you leave here, leave here saying, the last words, before you go to bed tonight, say, “I am a revolutionary.” Make that the last words in case you don’t wake up. Then somebody might believe it and you might, you know, end up in, what they call it, revolutionary happy hunting grounds.

Say that, I am a revolutionary.
I am a revolutionary.
Say it when you going out.
Everybody want keep the peace. Okay, we gon’ say it when we going out. We gon’ start to say “Free Fred.” Don’t that sound nice? Let’s do that.
Free Fred!
Free Fred!
Free Fred!
Free Fred!
Free Fred!
Free Fred!
I a’in’t even in jail yet.

Thanks to AfroMarxist for archiving these videos. Transcription by Jonathan Ebhogiaye.